Steven J. Levy: R.I. sets example for feds on biodesel

Monday

Jul 28, 2014 at 12:01 AM

Beginning this month, Rhode Island officially launched a new policy for heating oil in the state to contain at least 2 percent biodiesel. As stated by Sen. Susan Sosnowski (D-South Kingstown), the state’s...

By Steven J. Levy

Beginning this month, Rhode Island officially launched a new policy for heating oil in the state to contain at least 2 percent biodiesel. As stated by Sen. Susan Sosnowski (D-South Kingstown), the state’s requirement is a recognition of the national security, environmental and economic benefits that come from expanding the use of a domestically produced, cleaner-burning, renewable energy source.

“The General Assembly’s top priority has been job creation this year, and this legislation definitely has that in mind,” Senator Sosnowski said last year. “The creation of green jobs causes a positive ripple effect throughout various aspects of our lives, from the economy to the overall quality of life. I think the General Assembly’s mere recognition of that is going to put Rhode Island on the map regarding the future of renewable energy.”

Meanwhile, on the national level, it is notable that, back in 2006, it was then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama who introduced legislation to add a biodiesel component to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which requires a minimum amount of biofuels to be blended into the country’s transportation fuels.

Addressing America’s addiction to oil, he implored his colleagues not to settle for “piecemeal, bite-sized solutions to our energy crisis.”

“We need a national commitment to energy security,” he continued. “Now is the time for serious leadership to get us started down the path of energy independence.”

As a result of Obama’s prodding, his proposal became a major component of the revised RFS when it was enthusiastically passed in 2007 with bipartisan support in Congress, and the biodiesel industry has steadily been building momentum ever since.

So it is with a mix of frustration and irony that the biodiesel industry — now the makers of America’s first advanced biofuel to reach full market penetration — is facing a curious RFS proposal released last fall by President Obama’s own administration.

After a record of nearly 1.8 billion gallons in 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed an RFS volume for biodiesel of just 1.28 billion gallons for 2014 — representing a cut of at least 30 percent from last year’s actual production. The proposal has languished since being released in November and still hasn’t been finalized, but the fallout is already occurring.

A recent industry survey found that nearly 80 percent of U.S. biodiesel producers have scaled back production this year and more than half have idled production at a plant altogether, according to a recent industry survey. Additionally, two-thirds of producers said they have already reduced or anticipate reducing their workforce as a result of the downturn.

The collateral damage is extensive. Produced from a variety of co-products and waste products, biodiesel producers are predominately located in small towns and rural districts just now climbing out from under the recession. As result, the slowdowns and job cuts from biodiesel plants often have an outsized effect on their communities.

For all of us, the EPA’s proposed reduction for replacing fossil fuels with cleaner burning biodiesel dramatically affects air quality. Biodiesel is less toxic than table salt and, according to the EPA’s own figures, reduces carbon emissions by as much as 86 percent compared with petroleum diesel. Since 2005, biodiesel has reduced lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by 85.6 billion pounds — the same impact as removing 6.2 million passenger vehicles from America’s roadways.

Perhaps most important is the need for America to diversify its transportation fuels portfolio. Because the United States, according to the White House, has only a small a fraction of the world’s known oil supplies, the price of oil — and ultimately the price at the pump — is priced globally as an internationally traded commodity. Supporting American renewable fuels helps inject competition into the marketplace to drive down fuel prices.

The administration appears to be nearing a final decision on the RFS, with EPA officials suggesting they have recognized that the proposal was flawed and that the final rule will more accurately reflect the president’s support for clean renewable fuels. We hope they look to Rhode Island’s leadership on the issue as a guide.

After all, that legislation introduced by President Obama before he was elected to the White House envisioned that biodiesel would annually replace 2 billion gallons of petroleum diesel by 2015. With continued support for a strong and growing RFS, America’s biodiesel producers stand ready to make his ambitious goal a reality — perhaps even a little ahead of schedule.

Steven J. Levy is chairman of the National Biodiesel Board, based in Jefferson City, Mo., a trade association representing the biodiesel industry.